Repairing a cracked plane tote?

[sploo]

I've just picked up a Record #3, which (based on just a 5 minute inspection this evening) looks OK.

The handle and tote appear to have started life with a dark varnish/paint, but a previous owner has sanded almost all of it off. I'll get the rest off and will probably coat them in Danish oil, and maybe finish with furniture wax.

However, I've spotted a couple of cracks near the tote heel:

Close up:

I'm wondering if trying to fill the cracks with some epoxy would be a good way of stabilising them, and whether that'd show up really badly when finished? You can just about get a fingernail into the largest crack so it's not that wide.

 

[D_W]

YOu'll see them when you finish them, because they're open, but you can hide them somewhat because they're dark. They're drying cracks, and shouldn't affect the handle strength. I'd be inclined to do something quick like mix sanding dust with CA and then resand the handles, stain them dark and put shellac over them.

 

[sploo]

YOu'll see them when you finish them, because they're open, but you can hide them somewhat because they're dark. They're drying cracks, and shouldn't affect the handle strength. I'd be inclined to do something quick like mix sanding dust with CA and then resand the handles, stain them dark and put shellac over them.

Yea, they did strike me as drying, rather than use/abuse, cracks. I take it by CA you mean cyanoacrylate (super glue)?

I was thinking of mixing some of the sanding dust with epoxy, so doing the same with superglue would be fine.

I should stain them dark again for "historical accuracy" but I actually quite like the current shade (albiet probably turned down one notch). I assume they'll darken a bit with some oil and wax.

Shellac seems like an odd thing for a plane handle? Great for furniture but is it tough enough for a tool handle?

 

[bugbear]

Shellac seems like an odd thing for a plane handle? Great for furniture but is it tough enough for a tool handle?

A very thin layer, doing no more than fill the grain structure will be fine. A thicker layer may well be a little fragile.

I use wiping oil finishes (oil + varnish, e.g. Danish Oil) for handles.

BugBear

 

[sploo]

Shellac seems like an odd thing for a plane handle? Great for furniture but is it tough enough for a tool handle?

A very thin layer, doing no more than fill the grain structure will be fine. A thicker layer may well be a little fragile.

I use wiping oil finishes (oil + varnish, e.g. Danish Oil) for handles.

BugBear

Thanks. That's what I'm planning (Danish oil) for this, and a number of replacement handles I'm making for a few planes (from bubinga). I may or may not add wax on top - I'll experiment with some scrap at some point.

 

[MIGNAL]

Those types of cracks I tend to use a fine saw, cutting into the crack to reveal fresh wood. Then I glue in a veneer insert, although the grain direction is likely to be 'wrong' it makes for a strong repair. It's a little fine for cutting a same grain direction insert, although it is possible but likely less strong because of the end grain.

 

[sploo]

Those types of cracks I tend to use a fine saw, cutting into the crack to reveal fresh wood. Then I glue in a veneer insert, although the grain direction is likely to be 'wrong' it makes for a strong repair. It's a little fine for cutting a same grain direction insert, although it is possible but likely less strong because of the end grain.

That's a good idea. I don't think I've got any beech though.

I'll check the crack again tonight. I'm pretty certain it's very thin so stabilising with glue or epoxy may be acceptable. Having looked up a number of details on the plane, the frog and lateral lever would put it as a 1945-1952 model, and apparently rosewood was used up until 1949, with dark stained beech after that. That would then be consistent with it being 1950-1952, and the handles maybe being original. Assuming the cracking has existed for a long time it'll hopefully not get worse.

 

[Bedrock]

I have a very similar Record no.3, which has the front knob in rosewood and the tote in beech, given to me many years ago by a musical instrument maker. The tote was broken just above the base, through a knot, but was glued back in place under clamping, and has survived probably 25 years of regular use. Presumably they were simply using up the parts in the bin. With a Clifton blade, it is one of my favourite planes.
I think I would be inclined to go with the sanding dust solution initially, as from the photo, the crack doesn't seem to connect through to the bolt hole. If it opens up again, you can still try the veneer strip, before the grand solution of making a new tote.

Mike

 

[ED65]

Congrats on your find, I've never actually seen a no. 3 in the wild.

I'm wondering if trying to fill the cracks with some epoxy would be a good way of stabilising them, and whether that'd show up really badly when finished? You can just about get a fingernail into the largest crack so it's not that wide.

That's what I like to do, although sometimes I use superglue if the crack is very thin.

Sawing into the crack to open it up and expose fresh wood is a good technique for when you want to glue in a slip of wood, but from what I've seen so far (I have no repairs over a few years old) just dribbling in coloured or filled epoxy will work fine as long as the crack isn't dusty or oily. I make some effort to clean the crack, removing any crud and then giving it a quick brush over with acetone, and I'd never had one work free or open up again.

If you go with epoxy heat the area with a heat gun or hairdryer and as the wood cools it'll suck the epoxy in nicely. Don't try and fill the crack neatly with the wet glue mix, overfill slightly, wait for it to harden, pare away the excess with a sharp chisel and then file or sand flush.

Shellac seems like an odd thing for a plane handle? Great for furniture but is it tough enough for a tool handle?

It's the classic film finish for woodworking tool handles. Today it shouldn't be as durable as varnish in the long term, but in the old days it definitely was superior since their varnishes could craze and begin to crack in as little as ten years. While with a bit of luck you'll get 50 from shellac.

These days while our varnishes are much better than traditional ones there are still many woodworkers who shellac their handles. It shouldn't really matter much but one of the key attractions is that you can apply up to four coats in an hour, while with varnish that might take 3-4 days.

 

[sploo]

I have a very similar Record no.3, which has the front knob in rosewood and the tote in beech, given to me many years ago by a musical instrument maker. The tote was broken just above the base, through a knot, but was glued back in place under clamping, and has survived probably 25 years of regular use. Presumably they were simply using up the parts in the bin. With a Clifton blade, it is one of my favourite planes.

I think I would be inclined to go with the sanding dust solution initially, as from the photo, the crack doesn't seem to connect through to the bolt hole. If it opens up again, you can still try the veneer strip, before the grand solution of making a new tote.

It doesn't quite connect, so yes, it might be OK.

I haven't even sharpened it yet (the blade is reasonable but needs work) but fell in love with it immediately. No idea why but there is something a bit special about it.

Congrats on your find, I've never actually seen a no. 3 in the wild.

Something of a lucky find. I was deliberately checking eBay over Xmas to see if people were putting things on at unusual/unpopular times. I got the #3 for just £20, and scored a pretty decent Stanley #5 1/2 for £26 (cost of elbow grease not factored in :wink.

Thanks for the technique info - I've never heated a piece when using epoxy, but it's not something I do often. I suspect some superglue with sawdust might just do the job though as the crack is very thin.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I've always soaked my handles in BLO. Quick and easy - once every few years I wait for a few days I'm not going to be using anything and do the handles, my mallets and anything else wooden at the same time.

 

[D_W]

Slow to get back, but yes, shellac, and thin if you like. Really anything you want to use, though, that won't damage the glue. Since it's not structural, I'd be inclined to do whatever is easiest. Even a dark furniture pencil under shellac would be fine.

 

[bugbear]

I've never heated a piece when using epoxy, but it's not something I do often.

Me neither, but I often heat the tubes of glue to around 40 C. Makes the glue much more fluid.

BugBear

 

[n0legs]

Congrats on your find, I've never actually seen a no. 3 in the wild.

Here's another for you.
This was a cheap find on eBay, probably about the same age as the OP's. As you can see from the before pic it was in a horrible state.



Now, she's a little beauty. Surprising how much use she gets, and the good lady said I didn't need another plane :roll: :lol:

 

[sploo]

Here's another for you.
This was a cheap find on eBay, probably about the same age as the OP's. As you can see from the before pic it was in a horrible state.

Looks great. I suspect I'll struggle to match that (unless you did a respray?), but I think mine will clean up pretty well with some effort.

As for age, I'd need to see the frog and all of the lateral lever, but based on the iron it looks similar. Ah, though I've spotted "RECORD" on the lever - that means it's a tiny bit later, but if the frog is fairly "solid" it'll still likely be 1950s.

 

[n0legs]

Looks great. I suspect I'll struggle to match that (unless you did a respray?), but I think mine will clean up pretty well with some effort.

As for age, I'd need to see the frog and all of the lateral lever, but based on the iron it looks similar. Ah, though I've spotted "RECORD" on the lever - that means it's a tiny bit later, but if the frog is fairly "solid" it'll still likely be 1950s.

Oh yes, definitely a respray. She was a mess.
Just had a quick look to check and it has a "solid" frog and the lever is the 3 piece type. When I dated it from the Record planes site I came up with the late '50s.
Hope you get the handle fixed on yours. Mine had been repainted by someone, with a very thin paint. The staining was so bad I had no choice than to go with a very dark stain to hide it. I'm happy with it though.

 

[sploo]

Oh yes, definitely a respray. She was a mess.
Just had a quick look to check and it has a "solid" frog and the lever is the 3 piece type. When I dated it from the Record planes site I came up with the late '50s.
Hope you get the handle fixed on yours. Mine had been repainted by someone, with a very thin paint. The staining was so bad I had no choice than to go with a very dark stain to hide it. I'm happy with it though.

If it's a solid frog (and not ogee) and you've got "RECORD" on the lever it's probably 1952 to 1957 (according to this: http://www.recordhandplanes.com/dating.html)

I found another reference that rosewood was used until 1949 and from there, stained beech.

I appear to have "Lateral Lever Pattern #3" (1945-1952), but beech handles; so I'm guessing 1950-1952!

 

[ED65]

(cost of elbow grease not factored in :wink.

I never factor that in, otherwise my collection of old tools would be a lot smaller!

 

[ED65]

Here's another for you.
This was a cheap find on eBay, probably about the same age as the OP's. As you can see from the before pic it was in a horrible state.

She loverly! That looks like a completely different piece.

I presume all the blue was gone, what's a good paint to use to replace it?

and the good lady said I didn't need another plane :roll: :lol:

How little they know! I just need a few more and then I'll be sorted, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

By the way is that a new iron or did they have the tungsten alloy back in the 50s? I'm itching to try one of those, compare it to plain carbon steel.

 

[Bedrock]

I have just checked and find that I own three No.3s. The second is another Record with rosewood fore and aft. Can't remember where I acquired that, now has a Ray Iles blade and a Hock chip breaker. Both were acquired in very good condition, and from what has been said elsewhere, probably date from post 1949.The third is an Acorn, again I have had it for many years, but was never really very happy with it. Does that qualify as a collection?
The all rosewood probably has the most comfortable grip, but they are just easy to pick up for all sorts of small and large jobs.